Supports for ironing tables



June 30, 1959 H. L. VOlGT ET AL SUPPORTS FOR IRONING TABLES Filed Nov. 2. 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 um.

44 44 4o By RAYMOND H. SELLomJR 50 52. 5 52 5o F] Gn. 5

.-HTTQRNEY June 30, 1,959 H. volG-r ET Ar. 2,892,273

SUPPORTS FOR 'IRONING TABLES Filed NOV. 2, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 pgazwaf ATTORNEY nited States Patent i' SUPPORTS FOR IRONING TABLES Herbert L. Voigt and Raymond N. Sellon, Jr., Milwaukee, Wis., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Arvlu Industries, Inc., Columbia, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application November 2, 1953, Serial No. 389,802

1 Claim. (Cl. 38--121) This invention relates to improvements in supports for ironing tables and particularly for such supports which adjustably hold the top at selected heights including sit-down positions.

Such supports have front and rear legs crossed and interpivoted with the upper end of one leg hinged to the top 'of the ironing table and the upper end of the other leg slidably attached to such top. However, the knees of the sitting user will be interfered with by such crossed supports and cause discomfort or prevent the user from sitting close enough to the ironing table. This disadvantage can be overcome by offsetting the supporting legs from the longitudinal center line of the board. However, such offsetting creates a problem in nesting the legs in collapsed state against the top to make a unit for shipping and storage as small as possible.

It is an object of this invention therefore to provide crossed and interpivoted supports for an ironing table which will not interfere with the legs of the user of the table in the sit-down position thereof and which will collapse and nesty close to the top of the ironing table.

Another object of this invention is to provide crossed and interpivoted supports for an ironing table offset from the longitudinal center line of the ironing table and which support the table in a rigid and firm manner.

Another object of this invention is to provide supports for an ironing table which are partially demountable to form a small compact unit which may be readily packaged.

Another object of this invention is to provide crossed and interpivoted supports for ironing boards which in the sit-down position thereof will be protected against undue spreading at the lower ends and thereby increase the rigidness and stability of the ironing table.

A further object of this invention is to provide crossed and interpivoted supports for an ironing table having a guide for the slidable upper end of one of said supports which will resist deformation due to unusual force asserted on the locking lever of such slidable support.

A still further object of this invention is to provide supports for an ironing table which have an automatic safety stop which prevents an unexpected collapse of the supports.

The supports by which these objects are obtained consist of two tubular legs crossed and pivotally interconnected at the crossing so that they may collapse to a nested side by side position. At the upper end, each leg has a brace extending laterally therefrom. One of these braces is pivoted to the top near its sides. The other of these braces is slidably guided by widely spaced guides secured to the table top. Thus the legs are positioned near one side of the top while being connected to Such top at places spaced equally from the longitudinal center thereof to provide a stable tip-over resisting support. The brace on one of the legs crosses above the other leg and to permit such legs to nest side by side such brace is offset upwardly of such one leg when in nested position. To conserve space between the nested legs and the top 2,892,275 Patented `J une 3Q, 1959 each brace has lugs individually pivoted to the top. When the legs are nested the lugs on the offset brace extend below such brace and the lugs on the other brace extend above such brace. To make a more compact package of the collapsed ironing table the feet which extend beyond the sides of the top are readily removable. They are held by triangular tie rods with removable nuts. The ironing table is packaged in a carton with the feet removed. Thus such carton is smaller resulting in considerable savings. A stay secured to one of the legs below the pivot therebetween and slidable along the other of the legs below such pivot engages with a hook on such other leg in the sit-down position of the ironing table and offsets the force causing the legs to separate at their lower supporting ends. This greatly strengthens the rigidity of the supports in the sit-down position. To prevent the slotted guides for the sliding leg from spreading intermediate the ends of the slots when an undue pressure is put on the handle for the latch on the sliding rod, one of said guides is provided with a bridge secured to both the lower and upper portion of the guide. The bridge is arched to provide clearance for the end of the sliding rod.` Such bridge can not be used on the other guide because the rod extends to its handle. On this guide the automatic safety lock pivoted thereto has an oiset lip which engages the upper portion of the guide when the latch on the rod engages a finger on such lock extending below such rod. Hence when `downward force is placed on the handle controlling such rod, part of such force is transmitted by the locking lever to the upper portion of the guide and the lower portion of the guide will be bent downward. The automatic safety lock has an additional notch and lip which engage the sliding rod if the sliding leg is moved toward collapsed position before such rod has passed beyond the finger for the main notch.

For more detail description of this invention referencev should be made to the following description of this specific embodiment read in connection with accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a view in side elevation of an ironing table having supports embodying the present invention, shown in extreme stand-up ironing by the full lines and in extreme low sit-down ironing position by the broken lines; Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View of the ironing table of Fig. 1 with the supports collapsed and nested side by side; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view in side elevation of the ironing table of Fig. l with the supports shown in collapsed position;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view of the means for removably securing the feet to the supports; Fig. 5 is a sectional View taken on the line 5 5 of Y Fig. 4;

` position into the first or lowermost sit-down position;

Fig. 9 is a View similar to the view of Fig. 8 with the parts shown in the position assumed as the sliding leg is moved from stand-up position into the lowermost sit-down position;

Fig. l0 is a fragmentary view taken in side elevation of a guide reenforcement for the sliding end of the ironing table support;

Fig. ll is a sectional View taken on the line 11-11 of Fig. 9; and

ironing table has a -top 10 of usual construction supportedv on crossed-legs interpivoted intermediate their ends. A

single tubular front leg V12 has welded to its upper end a tubular brace 14 which extends to one side of the leg 12 as shown in Fig. 2. The brace 14 has a pair of spaced lugs 16 positioned adjacent each end thereof and positioned as shown in Fig. 3 at an angle downwardly with respect to the top 10 in the nested position of the legs. Each of the lugs 16 is connected by a pivot 13 to brackets 20 fastened to the under side of the top 10. These brackets are spaced equidistant from the longitudinal center line of the top 10 and are both on the same side of the leg 12. The resultant of this construction is that the front leg 12 rigidly supports the top 10 against tipping even though the leg 12 is spaced from such center line of the top and positioned close to the side of the top. The axis of the pivots 18 are spaced from the under side of the top 10 a distance greater than upper side of the rear leg in the nested position but do not interfere therewith because of their lateral positioning. This brings the brace 14 immediately adjacent the under side of the top in the nested position.

A single tubular rear leg 22 has its upper end provided with iiats 24 and a U-shaped brace 26 is rigidly connected to such ats 24 and extends laterally therefrom as shown in Fig. 2. This brace has a pair of spaced lugs 28 secured thereto adjacent opposite ends. These lugs project upwardly toward the top 10 when the legs are nested. The lugs 28 have holes in which a rod 30 is pivotally mounted. Extensions of rod 30` are slidably guided in elongated slots 32 formed in guides 34, thus slidably and pivotally mounting the leg 22 to the top. The guides 34 are substantially spaced equidistant from the longitudinal center line of the top 10. Both are on the same side of the leg 22. Thus the top` 10 is supported at its frontend against tipping even though the rear leg 22 is oiset from such center line. The lugs 28 are oifset upwardly as described in order to bring the axis 4of the rod 30 in alinement with the slots 32 when the legs 12 and 22 are nested as shown in Fig. 3.

The rear and front legs 12 and 22 are pivotally interconnected by a pivot 36 which extends therethrough. Such legs are spaced as'shown in Fig. 2 by a pair of metal spacers 38 which the pin 36 passes. These spacers have concave cylindrical portions which engage the tubular 4legs to prevent the spacers from turning and at confronting bearing surfaces which keep the legs in proper alinement while under the stresses of supporting the top.

Since the legs 12 and 22 are offset from the longitudinal center of the top 10 it is necessary that they be provided with elongated feet which will extend transversely of the top 10 a suicient distance beyond its sides to provide stability and rigidity for the ironing table when in use. The front leg 12 has a foot 40 and the rear leg 22 has a foot 42 both of which are made from tubular stock. The foot 40 has an outer end extending beyond that side of the top` 10 adjacent the legs 12 and 22 yan inner end extending beyond the longitudinal center line of lsuch top. The foot 42 has both ends extending beyond the sides of the top 10. The manner of securing each foot to its respective leg is identical and only one of such constructions will be described as applied to the front leg 12. The bottom of the leg 12 is cut in semi-circular shape (see Fig. :so that it iits snugly against the outer wall of the foot 40. In making the cut, teeth 44 are left which project from diametric sides of the leg 12 at the bottom of such cut. These teeth 'rit into openings in the foot 40 to properly locate such foot and resist turning and sliding. A pair of slots 46 in the leg 12 (see Fig. 4) receive a triangularly shaped tie rod 48. This rod has its legs extending from the bottom of slots 46 through holes in the foot 40 projecting therethrough and terminating in threaded ends contained in depressed areas 50 on the bottom of the foot 40. Nuts 52 are threaded on such ends and seat in such areas to tightly secure the foot 40 against the leg 12 and prevent such foot from tilting with respect to such leg. In order to assure that the foot 40 will be parallel with the foot 42 and perpendicular to the leg, the tie rod Y48 may be provided with visual recessed lines 54 (see Fig. 6) which `are alined with the outer surface of the foot 4t) to establish proper position. With the feet 40 and 42 removed and the legs 12 and 22 nested as shown in Fig. 3, the ironing table and its supports may be packed in a carton which need not be Wider in interior dimension than the width of the top 10. As a result of this, considerable saving in carton expenses is obtained. It is easy for the purchaser of the ironing table to follow the simple instructions for securing the feet 40 and 42 in place. This arrangement is described and claimed in the divisional application of Raymond N. Sellon, Jr. Serial No. 644,252 filed March 6, 1957. i When the board is in its sit-down position illustrated in the broken lines of Fig. 1 there exists a force tending to unduly spread and bend the legs. By interlocking the legs 12 and 22 near the lower ends thereof when in this position, such force is counterbalanced and undue spreading and bending eliminated. To do this, a stay 56 is pivotally secured to the leg 22 at 58. This stay has a loop 60 which surrounds the front leg 12 so that the bight of such loop rides along the forward edge of such leg. A downwardly facing hook 62 is secured to the front upper face of leg 12 so as to engage the bight of loop 60 when the legs 12 and 22 are spread to the lowermost sit-down position. The stay thus provi-des a tension member locking the 'legs at points 58 and 62 against tendency to further spread. This counterbalances the bending forces applied to the legs and stabilizes the board in this weakest of its positions. In order to collapse the legs to nested position the bight of the loop 60 is held out of contact with the upper face of the front leg 12 during the collapsing of such leg so that it passes over and does not engage the hook 62. If desirable a number of hooks 62 may be placed at selected intervals along the top of legs 12 to lock such legs at a variety of selected positions. In such case the board may be made adjustable to selected heights from stand-up to sit-down position without recourse to any locking mechanism for the sliding end of the rear leg 22. This feature also eliminates the necessity of an automatic lock to prevent the board from suddenly collapsing after reaching its lowest locked position.

The upper end of the rear leg 22 may be locked in a variety of positions within the scope of the guide 34 by racks 64 carried by the guides 34 and having a plurality of downwardly opening notches 66. These notches engage a latch 68 on the rod 30 which is urged into the notches by a spring 70 mounted on the brace 26 and bearing against such latch. The latch 68 is moved out of engagement with the notches 66 by raising a handle 72 on the rod 30. When the crossed legs 12 and 22 are being lowered from the nested position of Fig. 3, the rod 30 slides in the slots 32 until the latch 68 enters the first of the notches 66 to lock the legs in the lowermost sitdown position. If top 10 is raised up and shaken, the weight of the legs 12 and 22 will cause the upper end of leg 22 to .move toward the last of the notches 66 and extend the legs to fully raised position. However, the latch 63 may be stopped in any of the notches 66 intermediate such extreme positions to adjust the board at a desired height between such extreme positions.

A gravity operated automatic stop 74 is pivotally secured to that guide 3'4 which is adjacent the handle 72. The lock 74 has a projecting finger 76 adjacent a notch 78. As the rod 30 is moved toward the left from the right end of the slots 32 (as viewed in Figs. 8l and 9) while the board is in horizontal position, such rod will engage the nger 76 and stop in the notch 78 (see Fig. 9). This locks the legs in the lowermost sit-down position and prevents any unexpected collapse due to negligent operation oef the handle 72. The lock 74 also has a lip 82 on its upper edge which engages the top of the guide 34 in such locked position so that any unusual Idownward pressure on the handle 72 will be transmitted by the rod 30 to the lip 82 and hence to such top of the guide 34 and offset any tendency for such rod 30 to bend the lower leg of the guide 34 out of its normal position. The iinger 76 also prevents the lock 74 from swinging upwardly out of its locking position under the influence of sudden movements or jerks imparted to the table 10. However, as the legs are moved from nested position to the lowermost sit-down position the latch 68 will engage the rst notch 66 before the lock 74 can drop into safety position (see Fig. 8). In order to arrest a sudden collapse, if by chance t-he handle 72 is raised while the legs are in such position, an additional notch 80 is provided as shown having its lower end disposed in the path of the rod 30 so as to engage such rod and prevent further collapsing of the legs in such circumstances.

In order to prevent the other guide 34 from being bent downwardly at the center part of its lower leg, a bridge 84 is secured to such guide at points above the slot 32 and below the slot 32 (see Fig. 10). The bridge transfers lforce applied to the lower part to the upper part of the guide 34 and prevents undue deformation of the lower part. The offset part of the bridge 84 extends beyond the end of the rod 30 to provi-de clearance for such rod as it moves from end to end in the slot 32.

Although only one embodiment of the invention is shown and described herein, it will be understood that this application is intended to cover such changes for modifications as come within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the following claim.

We claim:

An ironing table, a top, a pair of crossed interpivoted legs, a first brace attached to one of said legs and offset upwardly with respect to said leg to permit said pair of legs to collapse to a nested side-by-side position, said first brace overlying the other of said legs and pivoted to said top at spaced places positioned on one side of said leg, a second brace on said other of said legs, a pair of spaced guides on said top positioned on said one side, and means pivotally and slidably interconnecting said second brace and said guides, each of said braces having spaced lugs, the lugs on said offset rst brace being angled downwardly and pivoted to said top, and the lugs on said second brace being angled upwardly and comprising part of said pivotally and slidably interconnecting means.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 232,100 Zwiebel Sept. 7, 1880 700,054 Knapp May 13, 1902 978,342 Weaver Dec. 13, 1910 1,762,924 Forney June 10, 1930 2,311,612 Pleiss Feb. 16, 1943 2,546,097 Hild Mar. 20, 1951 2,614,348 Buser Oct. 21, 1952 2,662,319 Hortman Dec. 15, 1953 2,663,101 Olander Dec. 22, 1953 2,663,102 Olander Dec. 22, 1953 2,671,975 Wear Mar. 16, 1954 2,693,652 Kutz Nov. 9, 1954 

